This review may contain spoilers
Reflection on What Gives Life Meaning
There have been a number of reviews of this wonderful film by Pema Tseden. Some reviewers note the fact that it has a kind of road trip movie feel to it. Two of the characters are named “Jinpa” — one, a truck driver — lives a life that recalls the Myth of Sisyphus. He drives back and forth across the Kekexili Plateau in Tibet. He picks up a hitchhiker, also “Jinpa” who is on a quest. Jinpa the hitchhiker is searching for his father’s murderer in order to exact revenge. It is given that he must do so since tradition demands revenge. But the film explores what it means to break away from the scripts we are given by tradition. We find significance and meaning through our own free choices. This is a very moving film with a number of absurdist touches, such as Jinpa the truck driver feeling guilty for accidentally killing a sheep and then later buying part of a butchered sheep for meat. Philosophically very interesting. I highly recommend.Was this review helpful to you?
